


cupid's chokehold

by 0saturnboy0



Category: Monsta X (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Background Hyunghyuk, M/M, Marriage Proposal, hey guys whats up im back with a last minute spur of the moment, jookyun r soulmates change my mind, oh and hyungwon has a kid? oh well
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-05
Updated: 2019-04-05
Packaged: 2020-01-05 04:52:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,070
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18358988
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/0saturnboy0/pseuds/0saturnboy0
Summary: i was just sitting outside with my charming valentine.we can't help but crack a smile, don't say a word just stay awhile.or, well. jooheon wants to spend the rest of his life with changkyun because at the end of the day, there's no one else.





	cupid's chokehold

It should be easy, but it’s not. 

 

Jooheon’s fingers couldn’t help but tighten around the box in his pocket.  _ Man up, dude.  _ He repeated it in his head, almost trying to beat it in like mental memory instead of muscle memory. Anxiety still ate at the soles of his shoes, clawing at his chest. 

 

Is it the right time? 

 

The pavilion outside of the library was empty. It was just him, standing with tense shoulders, kicking into the concrete to distract himself. It wasn’t working, of course. The thoughts he were having had him by the back of his neck, drowning him. 

 

Why wasn’t it easy? Everything else was. 

 

Their first date, their kisses, the way they expressed their love. It all came so easy, barely an effort. It was finely tuned in their souls, which almost seemed to reach out and intertwine together. 

 

That’s what Jooheon saw in his dreams, anyhow. 

 

“You look like a weirdo, out here all by yourself.” 

 

Jooheon jumped right out of his damn skin, a yell— or.. well, something close to a yell left him, a hand on his heart as if to show that the life was scared out of him. He got whiplash from the way his head jerked, meeting tired eyes. 

 

“You  _ can’t  _ do that to me, you  _ asshat _ ,” Jooheon cursed, and Hyungwon just gave a lazy smile. 

 

“I can’t? That’s too bad. I literally watched your soul leave your body,” and he huffed, moving to sit at the lonesome table in the midst of the pavilion, pulling out his pack of menthols. Jooheon made a face, but sat down across from him. Hyungwon just shrugged, lighting one of the cigarettes. “What did you need to talk about? Must be important, you look like you’re ten seconds from shitting your pants.” 

 

Jooheon slapped him out of disbelief ( _ and, well, denial _ ), causing Hyungwon to hiss, pulling a drag from the cigarette while giving the other something close enough to a stink eye. Jooheon just huffed, cheeks puffing out. 

 

This was  _ dumb _ . 

 

“I wanna propose,” Jooheon finally said. 

 

“Then do it.”

 

Jooheon felt his skin somehow tighten against his bones. Hyungwon made it sound so easy, didn’t ask him why— he didn’t question him at all. He just.. told him to do it. 

 

Right.. Maybe it  _ was  _ that easy. 

 

Hyungwon blew out the smoke away from Jooheon, flicking away the bare amount of ashes that built up. “You guys are seriously inseparable,” was what he said, like it was obvious. “You’ve been together for how long.. 5.. nearly 6 years now? That’s more than enough time.” 

 

Jooheon listened like it was the only thing he had left to hear. He didn’t know why Hyungwon’s opinion mattered so much, but it did, and he gripped the box tighter. His eyes fixated on the table. Man… why was this so difficult? 

 

“But you shouldn’t need justification, you know. Changkyun loves you. You love him. Everyone knows it and I  _ know  _ you two know it.” 

 

Ah.. right.. 

 

Jooheon smiled, eyes closed. Maybe he was overthinking it. His hand pulled away from the box in his pocket, resting it on the table. 

 

“I’m so dumb,” was all he said. Hyungwon just scoffed, flicking the cigarette away. 

 

“Well, love does that.” 

 

Yeah, he supposed it did. 

 

Jooheon lingered, talking to Hyungwon about other things. Life, school, and Hyungwon’s miserable love life. It consisted of pining after Lee Minhyuk, who’s the art teacher for the preschoolers which included Hyungwon’s son. The story there is simple: Hyungwon dropped out just to take care of him once the mother up and left, and now he’s too embarrassed to show himself to someone like Minhyuk. 

 

“Why though? He loves kids, especially yours from what you always tell me,” Jooheon pointed out, grabbing the pack before Hyungwon could pluck out another cigarette. 

 

Hyungwon’s brows furrowed, but he sat back, just shrugging. “I always look like I’m on the verge of death, I don’t have a job worth shit, and I’m a dropout. He’s gorgeous, has a good job, and a life very well worth living. Think about it.” 

 

“I did think about it, and what  _ I  _ think is that you’re just too hard on yourself and too scared to give it a chance. Minhyuk’s not going to spit on your life, he’s a good guy.” 

 

Hyungwon just sighed out of his nose, fingers twitchy against the table. 

 

Eventually, Hyungwon left him all alone to go pick up his kid, leaving Jooheon to reflect, looking around before he pulled the box out. He was selfishly grateful in these times that his love was easier to fall into, that he didn’t have to grasp at straws and hook weights to himself like Hyungwon did. 

 

Changkyun made things so simple, but maybe it was fate who did this for them. Maybe it was time working in their favor. He pulled the ring out from its crevice, a black band with a date carved inside. Simple, but effective. 

 

All he could think about was their first date. 

 

Jooheon had drove all the way to Changkyun’s house, which was by the beach. Changkyun told him they didn’t have to go anywhere special, insisting that it would mean more if they ate shitty cup ramen on his balcony and watched the stars. 

 

“Why won’t you let me spoil you?” Jooheon teased, close to a whine as he squeezed the other’s hand. 

 

Changkyun just laughed, free hand covering up his face. “You existing is spoiling me fuckin’ rotten, dude.” 

 

Jooheon watched him, feeling his heart thrummer. He remembered that part of the night, beaten so heavily into his fucking bones, never letting him forget. Changkyun’s hair was brown and curly, his skin perfect, eyes so soft yet sharp— that was before he even fully grew into his body. 

 

That’s probably when Jooheon knew from head to toe, brain to heart, that Changkyun would be it for him. 

 

His phone buzzed on the table, snapping him out of his flashback of a daydream.

 

_ are ya ever gonna come home? owo lol i miss u babie !!  _

 

Jooheon subconsciously smiled at his phone. Of course. 

 

_ yea just be patient uwu  _

 

_ OWO !!!!  _

 

The laugh that left was too genuine, and he put the ring back, closing the box and putting it back in his pocket. Maybe he just needs to be honest. Yeah. Maybe that’s all he really needed to do from the start. 

 

Just be raw and honest. That’s how they’ve always worked. They’ve always been themselves to themselves, to the world, to anyone and everyone. Just  _ them _ . 

 

Jooheon pushed himself up, dusting off his pants. He gathered himself and his belongings, going all the way back to his car. The dread that was in his step from the weight of anxiety has turned into a peppy kind from hope, from the positive side of anticipation. 

 

He didn’t feel like his skin was slowly peeling, like he was withering at the seams of his being. He felt like he was blooming, his heart sprouting wild daisies. 

 

_ Love does that.  _

 

That was Hyungwon’s words for just about any emotion that seemed out of pocket these days, his mantra. Or in Naruto, they would say their  _ nindo, their ninja way! _ — something like that, something that Changkyun would point out in his kiddy nerd voice, pointing and gushing like some quirky middle schooler would. 

 

Jooheon started the car, playing a song that reminded him of taking flight, and he went home where his ( _ hopefully _ ) soon-to-be husband was waiting. His soulmate. 

 

His stupid little Naruto-loving beach boy anthropology majoring idiot. 

 

When he pulled in, he took a deep breath. It’s cool. Asking him out was easy, kissing him after eating some rancid kimchi flavored ramen was easy— what was the difference? Oh, right. 

 

This is dealing with their future, being bonded for the rest of their lives. A cake walk.  _ Yeah _ . 

 

When Jooheon got into their little home, shabby but close to where Changkyun used to live before college, he immediately smelled something burning. Changkyun was flinging out english curses faster than he usually spoke, dropping the dish on the counter with a whine. 

 

Well. This was a good start, huh? 

 

“You know how I studied abroad in Boston? Well one of my roommates made this bomb ass thing called las.. lasagna? La-sag-nah? I dunno. All I know is that it’s cheesy and meaty as frick, so I tried to recreate it—”

 

“— And you messed up,”  Jooheon interjected, humming. 

 

“And I messed up.” 

 

Jooheon laughed, feeling more at ease than before, watching Changkyun whine at his crispy pasta, sauced doused all over it. It complemented the hardened cheese all too well, he thought, but he didn’t want Changkyun to pout further— then he’d  _ really  _ be in trouble. 

 

“We can get take out in a bit, but the sky looks really pretty right now— you gotta come and see.” 

 

Changkyun made a cute little ‘o’ with his lips, nodding, wiping his hands on his shorts as they made their way outside. Changkyun went all the way to the rail, Jooheon just angled behind his back to see past his shoulder. 

 

“I don’t see anything special? There’s not even that many stars out. Are you becoming blind? I swear, I told you wearing Hyungwon’s thick ass glasses was gonna do you in—” 

 

“Kyun,” Jooheon said, softly. 

 

Changkyun blinked, turning around to face him. He was so beautiful. Jooheon felt his heartbeat pick up, the heat behind his eyes becoming hotter.  _ Fuck.  _

 

“What’s up?” 

 

Jooheon moved to get down on his one knee, Changkyun tilting his head. And in the midst of Jooheon pulling out the ring, Changkyun had already crouched down with him, hand barely reaching out him. He thought something was wrong, but.. well.. 

 

“Joo— you, oh my god,” Changkyun stammered, swallowing hard as Jooheon popped open the ring box. He felt right down onto his butt, staring at the other in surprise, eyes glossy. 

 

“I— I’ve been thinking,” Jooheon began, voice shaky. “About us. About when we fi rst met. Your fashion was .. bad and you had such a deep voice. I thought you were stuck up but you wasn’t, you were funny.. and cute… you were like a little puppy.” 

 

Jooheon smiled all too big when he looked at Changkyun, seeing the boy he met with the curly hair and a younger face. Now he's grown into his body, hair blonde and messy, clothes covered in god knows what from cooking. He looked older and sharper, but he was still just as soft around the edges. Jooheon's chest hurt just looking at him. It felt like growing together with him was like edging him off a cliff, and he was about to risk it all and fall. 

 

He'd do it all for Changkyun though. 

 

Changkyun covered his mouth with his hand, tears dripping off the apples of his cheeks. A tear hadn’t escaped Jooheon yet, thankfully, but the fond look on his face with shimmering eyes was definitely a scene to remember. 

 

“You were and still are the best thing to ever happen to me. You’re literally my sun, as corny as it is. I love you— I love you, and if you’re okay with it.. I’d really… I’d really like to spend the rest of my life with you.” 

 

Changkyun let out a sob right then, something that turned into laughing after the initial emotion, and he held his stomach as he laughed harder. Jooheon had to blink now, letting both knees rest as he sat up. Did he do something wrong? Did Changkyun think this was some prank? He hoped those two braincells weren't outweighing the soon-to-be law school graduate side of Changkyun's brain. 

 

“What— What’d I say—”

 

“Y… You’re such a…  _ cornball _ . You big d-dummy, yeah I wanna spend the rest of my life with you,” Changkyun exclaimed, wiping at his face with a giggle, leaning in to kiss Jooheon’s dimple. “I thought that was our plan from the start.. never expected I’d have to marry you.. What is this, a power move to s-spoil me?” 

 

“You’re such a clown,” Jooheon said, nearly in disbelief. But this was them. This is how they were. They were so fucking stupid, and he loved it. He loved how it wasn’t life or death, that things weren’t strict and followed all the books and movies. 

 

It was Jooheon and Changkyun, and that was more than enough. 

 

**Author's Note:**

> honestly this sprouted from my bud del after sending her a cute jookyun pic at ass in the morning  
> talk to me on twt @jinyoungsjuul


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